Evocative 1877 Plaster Portrait Mold of Bearded Gentleman wooden envelope When I spotted this

When I spotted this

Signed (incised) on the underside but indecipherable

The armadillo measures 7 1/2" long x 1 3/4" tall x 1 3/8" wide

with paper loss on just a few blocks

Evocative 1877 Plaster Portrait Mold of Bearded Gentleman wooden envelope When I spotted thisI think I'd be way less interested in the cast plaster portraits created from this than I am in the mold itself, which I find super evocative and a bit haunting too, with all of its patina now making it feel a bit like a momento mori. I don't know who this man was, but there is a date of 1877 carved into the back. Around the perimeter is an old iron wire holding it together one assumes added at the time it cracked along his shoulder with a beautiful